Chapter Nine

Recipe for Disaster

Ding Dong!

“Oh, my God, that’s him!” Sammi exclaimed after hearing the doorbell ring. “But the homemade spaghetti sauce I made from Mom’s family recipe isn’t even done yet. It’s still simmering. And you know what Grandma always said about her special sauce; ‘It’s all about the simmer-one hour long. Not fifty-nine minutes, but one whole hour.”

Sammi looked up at the kitchen clock. “Five-thirty; he’s right on time, but my spaghetti sauce isn‘t.” She tore off her apron and patted down her hair. “What am I going to do?”

Just then, Sammi looked over at the kitchen table where her three daughters sat. They weren‘t looking nearly as excited about the arrival of their dinner guest as their mother was. Kennedy sat so slouched down in her chair that she looked Daryn’s height. Joy sat with her chin on the table looking like a sad, lost puppy, while Daryn rested her elbows on the table and her face in her hands.

Sighing, Sammi said to her daughters, “Look, girls, I know you guys really weren’t looking forward to Bo coming to dinner tonight, but he’s here now…and Mommy needs your help.” She walked over to the table. “Do you think you all could watch and stir the sauce for me while I go let Bo in?” Just then, the doorbell rang again. “Could you, please?” a desperate Sammi asked.

None of the girls replied. Agitated, Sammi said, “Well, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.” She looked to Kennedy. “Kennedy, you go stir the spaghetti and, Daryn, you whip up some of Grandma Soul’s recipe for fruit punch.” She looked at Joy. “And you help with the punch. I’ll be back in a minute.” After giving orders, Sammi exited the kitchen to go let her date in.

The girls watched their mother excitedly exit the kitchen.

“Look, I was all for that little plan of ours at first,” Kennedy said, “but then I figure just being out right mean to the guy might get rid of him too. I mean, being a jerk toward the guy is much easier.”

“I agree,” Daryn said. “You being a jerk comes quite naturally.”

Kennedy shot her an evil eye, but decided against verbally responding. She had bigger fish to fry right now. “But can you believe Mom is making our grandmother’s sauce to feed another man?” Kennedy spat as she went and began to stir the sauce with a wooden spoon. “That’s a family recipe.” Kennedy raised her tone, hoping that their guest would hear her. “And he’s not family!”

“And she’s making our father’s mother’s fruit punch recipe to quench another man’s thirst,” Daryn added as she got some oranges from the fridge and began to peel them.

“And she’s making her daughters make their father’s mother’s special recipe to feed another man,” Joy said, retrieving the sugar from the cupboard. “That’s low.” Joy’s eyes tightened. “Even lower than us. And that’s pretty darn low.”

Kennedy and Daryn shot Joy a look.

“Okay, maybe not that low,” Joy smiled nervously.

The girls each nodded in agreement; a rare act on their part.

“Yeah, I can’t believe she’s making us prepare the dinner that her new boyfriend is going to…” A huge, wicked grin covered Kennedy’s face as her words trailed off.

“What?” Joy said. “What were you about to say?”

She looked over to Joy who was now helping Daryn fill a glass pitcher with the punch ingredients. “This must be fate; or what the grown-ups mean by opportunity knocking.” Kennedy’s eyes were lit up, but that menacing grin was still on her face.

Daryn looked up at Kennedy. She was replaying Kennedy’s words in her head to try to figure out exactly what it was she’d said that made her stand there with that look on her face. It didn’t take long for Daryn to know what to make of it. “Oh, I know that look.” A wicked grin soon covered Daryn’s face as well.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Kennedy asked Daryn.

“You betcha,” Daryn said.

“Well, will somebody tell me what’s going on?” Joy asked as she lifted the bag of sugar to pour into the pitcher.

“Whoa-not so fast, little sister” Daryn said, lifting her hand and blocking Joy from pouring in the sugar.

“But it needs sugar or otherwise it will taste like…” Joy started before her words trailed off. She was now catching on to what her sisters were up to. “Ohhhhh; I get it,” she smiled. “Opportunity is knocking for us to put our original plan in motion.”

“And we’re going to answer the door,” Kennedy proclaimed, heading over to a cabinet.

For the last hour they had attempted sabotage the meal their mother was preparing for their dinner guest. Sammi had never left the kitchen in order for them to do so. She’d been watching over the meal like a hawk. But now, she’d basically put the plan in motion herself by turning over the kitchen to her daughters.

“Now, for that last missing ingredient from Grandma’s sauce.” Kennedy grinned as she opened the cabinet that the seasonings and condiments were kept in.

“But there is no other ingredient,” Joy informed her oldest sister.

Standing there with crushed red pepper in one hand and a bottle of hot sauce in the other, Kennedy replied, “Oh yes there is; two to be exact.”

“You are so bad,” Daryn said, shaking her head.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Kennedy winked.

“He’s definitely going to lose his appetite for dinner,” Joy chuckled.

“After we get finished with Mr. Bo Hart tonight,” Kennedy affirmed, “not only is he going to lose his appetite for dinner, but hopefully he’s going lose his appetite for our mother as well.”

***

“Girls, come on into the living room, I want you all to meet-” Sammi started as she peeked her head into the kitchen. Her words halted when she saw the table beautifully set with Grandma Soul’s good china. She guessed then that her stern words she’d delivered to her daughters earlier in the kitchen had really gotten through to them. Obviously, her words had enough affect to change their attitude about the new man in her life. It looked as though the girls might be willing to give Bo a chance after all. “It’s absolutely lovely in here.” Sammi entered the kitchen.

“Thanks, Mom,” Kennedy smiled as she piled the cooked noodles that had been sitting in the strainer onto each plate.

“Why don’t you have Mr. Bo come on in for dinner? We don’t want it to get cold while we’re all out there going through pleasantries,” Daryn suggested as she removed garlic toast from the oven.

“Yeah,” Joy added. “Rebecca Joe’s big sister said that there’s no better way to a man’s heart than with food; hot food.”

“And it’s hot all right,” Daryn mumbled under her breath.

Sammi was so moved by her daughters’ change of heart that her eyes became moist with tears. “Girls, thank you so much for deciding to give this thing a chance. I don’t know what to say.”

“How about, ‘Dinner is served?” Kennedy suggested, scooping noodles onto the last plate. “I’ll get the sauce while you get your date.”

“I’m right on it,” Sammi said as she exited the kitchen.

Kennedy immediately grabbed the hot sauce and crushed red pepper.

“Girls,” Sammi said, sticking her head back into the kitchen.

“Uh…yes…Mom/Mother/Mommy,” the girls said nervously as Kennedy hid the condiments behind her back.

“Thanks again. You don’t know how much this means to me. And believe me; I understand that this is not easy for you girls. It wasn‘t easy for me either. But I know we can get through anything as long as we just love and respect one another.” Sammi wiped away a lone tear before it fell from her eye. “Oh, let me get out of here before I ruin my make-up.” She carefully wiped under her eyes as not to smear her make-up. “You girls make me so proud.” Once again, she exited the kitchen.

With blank faces, the girls stared at one another. Then suddenly Kennedy smiled and wiped her forehead. “Whew, that was close.”

“Tell me about it,” Daryn agreed.

Joy let out a sigh of relief.

“Now hurry up,” Daryn told Kennedy, who then quickly began covering Bo’s noodles with the secret added ingredients. Daryn was right behind her wearing huge oven mittens with the pan of sauce.

Kennedy got a ladle and began spooning spaghetti sauce on top of the mounds of hot sauce and pepper. “Joy, go ahead and put sugar in the punch, but put that other kind of sugar in Mr. Bo’s special glass that we set aside for him.”

“What other kind of sugar?” Joy asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“The kind that looks just like sugar, only it ain’t sweet,” Kennedy told her.

Joy thought for a minute then said, “Ohhhh; I get it,” as she retrieved the container of salt and followed her oldest sister’s instructions.

Moments later, Sammi entered the kitchen, followed by her date. “Girls, I want you to meet Bo. Bo, this is Kennedy, my oldest,” Sammi pointed to each of her daughters, “Daryn, my middle girl, and Joy, my baby.”

“Hi, Mr. Bo,” the girls said in unison as they each sat in front of their plates with fake, innocent smiles plastered on their faces.

It wasn’t hard for the girls to see why their mother had taken such a liking to this Bo character. He was a nice looking fella if the girls had to admit it themselves. However, they would never admit it themselves; not out loud anyway.

“Hello, little ladies,” Bo greeted. “It’s an honor to meet you.” He smiled and his sparkling white teeth shined like something out of a cartoon.

“Have a seat,” Sammi instructed him as she pointed at one of the two empty settings at the table that could seat up to six people.

“You first,” Bo replied as he proceeded to pull out the chair of one of the empty settings.

“Nooo, not there!” all the girls yelled.

Bo and Sammi were startled by their loud outburst.

“That’s Mr. Bo’s plate. Uh…we…uh…really piled the food on Mr. Bo’s plate,” Kennedy stammered. “You, know, with him being a big, strong man and all.” She flexed her muscles and puffed out her cheeks.

“Uh, well, okay,” Sammi said, looking at Kennedy strangely.

Both Sammi and Bo sat down in their seats assigned by the girls.

“Shall I open with prayer?” Bo asked.

“Sure,” Sammi smiled, proud that she had a praying man. Even though Sammi and the girls didn’t go to church as regularly as they had when Mr. Soul was alive, they still frequented the church Mr. Soul had been a member of. As the head of the family, Mr. Soul had always prayed over his family’s food before they ate their meals. That was something that the girls still did. So for Sammi, it was nice to see that Bo would fit right in, in that aspect anyway.

After Bo said the prayer he playfully added, “Now let’s dig in.” He admired the food before him. “I hope it’s as delicious as it smells,” Bo said, picking up a forkful of spaghetti.

“Me, too,” Sammi said. “It’s one of my best dishes. I hope you enjoy.”

“I’m sure I will.” Bo put the forkful in his mouth while the girls sat watching him chew, waiting for some type of reaction. After a few seconds, Bo could tell that he was being watched. He quickly looked up from his plate to find the three sisters staring at him. They each immediately looked away and began digging in their own plates.

Bo decided to strike up a conversation. “So, girls, I hear you all go to the same school. Must be nice.”

“Yeah,” Sammi answered for her daughters, whose mouths were full. “I was really glad to find a school that went from kindergarten all the way up to twelfth grade. That means the girls can always be there to watch out for each other.”

“I would have liked being in school with my siblings all of my school years, but unfortunately, I’m an only child,” Bo informed them.

The girls weren’t the least bit interested in Bo’s family life. However, Sammi was.

“Isn’t that a coincidence, girls? That both Mr. Bo and I are an only child?”

“Pure twist of fate?” Kennedy shot.

There was a moment of awkward silence again.

“So, Bo, how’s the food?” Sammi asked.

“Oh, it’s delicious,” he said as he scooped up another huge forkful and began to chew.

The girls looked from one to another with confusion. They couldn‘t figure out why he was enjoying a meal that should have set off a five alarm fire in his mouth. Kennedy shrugged.

“It‘s a family recipe.” Sammi smiled proudly as she took a bite of her own food.

Bo licked his lips. “Well, it’s the best spaghetti I’ve ever had. I mean this sauce is…this sauce is…” Just then, Bo’s eyes watered up and his face turned beat red. “This sauce is…”

“My sauce is what?” Sammi smiled as she batted her eyes. She just knew a compliment was coming.

“It’s hot!” Bo managed to shout as he began to choke.

“Oh, my goodness! For goodness sakes,” Sammi said as she stood up and went to Bo’s aide. She felt helpless, as Bo couldn’t even talk. He gripped his hands around his own throat as if he were choking himself. Thinking quick on her feet, Sammi handed him his glass of punch.

The girls sat there watching the scene unfold, kicking each other under the table with excitement that their plan was playing out just as they had imagined.

“Here, drink this,” Sammi told Bo.

He took the glass from Sammi and began gulping it down. Within seconds, all the red punch went flying out of his mouth and all over Sammi‘s outfit. “Pah-yuk!” Bo choked. He managed to get up and go over to the kitchen sink. He turned the water to cold and began chugging right from the faucet.

The girls couldn’t hold it in any longer as they each burst into laughter. They laughed so hard that tears fell from their eyes. They were holding their stomachs and keeling over. Joy laughed so hard that she fell out of her chair. It was when she looked up to see her mother towering over her, dripping in fruit punch, that her laughter, along with her sisters’ laughter, stopped.

They had pretty much expected what Bo’s reaction would be after he dug into his extra spicy plate of food and after he drank his bitter drink. Nevertheless, it was their mother’s reaction that they had failed to prepare themselves for. That was one glitch in their operation they’d have to repair, but for now, it was too little too late. There was no time to prepare for their mother’s wrath.